Editorial: Expect state budget to deliver second local whammy

Hurricane Irma will be a financial game-changer for local government agencies as they tap into savings to pay for cleanup and repairs without certainty of how much reimbursement they’ll get from the federal government.

Naples City Manager Bill Moss, for example, recently summarized for the City Council: $320,000 to repair 40 broken water lines; nearly $1 million to rebuild the damaged Naples Pier; sewer pump costs and generator purchases of $250,000; nearly $6 million for debris cleanup contractors and tree-cutting crews, among other expenses to total nearly $10 million.

There’s a second whammy for local agencies yet to come in the 2018 legislative session. Typically local leaders ask the state for financial help with major projects.

Naples Republican state Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, who chairs the Collier legislative delegation that met recently, understandably set a discouraging yet realistic tone for the session that begins in January. She noted a potential $1 billion revenue deficit for the Florida budget and the state’s plans to dip into nearly $3 billion in reserves to make ends meet.

“We’re not going to be able to be as generous as in the past,” she said.

For the ensuing three-and-a-half hours, many agencies asked for help with the same projects and spending that didn’t receive state money the past couple of years. It hardly seemed like we had a benevolent Legislature in 2017. Post-Irma, we expect it will be necessary for lawmakers to be miserly in 2018.

Even so, if Passidomo’s priorities as stated during the delegation hearing come to fruition, the session could be remembered for some success.

“Member projects are going to be few and far between and mainly Irma-related,” Passidomo said. Otherwise, she mentioned two issues that she expects will be a legislative focus in 2018. One is escalating opioid and substance abuse. Another is Florida’s dismal investment in mental health – the state is No. 49 in per capita funding.

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Scott Burgess, chief executive of David Lawrence Center, illustrated why each would be wise investments in Floridians: 1 in 4 face a mental health challenge during their life; 1 in 9 has a substance abuse battle.

Fitting the mold

Speakers at the delegation hearing cited some projects we’d consider to fit the mold of those priorities Passidomo identified:

+ Collier Commission Chairwoman Penny Taylor noted that Irma-devastated Everglades City needs a $20 million to $30 million water and sewer system overhaul. Everglades City isn’t part of the county’s utility and that price tag is out of the small city’s reach.

+ Burgess urged continued support of the court program for veterans to divert them out of the criminal justice system following an arrest. Of 21 veterans completing the program so far, none have reoffended for a zero recidivism rate, he said.

+ Burgess proposed a new “children’s resiliency” pilot project that would provide a staffer to work through Collier County Public Schools to address mental health issues surfacing for young children and “change their life trajectory.”

+ Marshall Goodman, who oversees business accelerators in Naples and Immokalee for Collier government, urged support for a 40,000-square-foot food production accelerator that would work in conjunction with the University of Florida at Immokalee airport. While this money was vetoed by the governor last year, we’d note Immokalee was severely damaged by Irma. This project could benefit from the state collaborating with county, community and federal partners to provide industry that Immokalee will need to recover post-Irma.